Pittsburgh Steelers OLB T.J. Watt’s season ended early with sprained MCL in his knee, and he’s not in any major rush to get back to full speed. In an interview with Pardon My Take, Watt said he’s not “grinding” and for the second offseason in a row, he’s being smart and taking his time to ramp up to full speed.
“It’s like a slow ramp, last year and this year is the first time I’m actually smart about it. I’m not grinding right now. I’m like kind of a slow build. So it makes a lot more sense,” Watt said.
After tearing his pec in 2022 and now coming off the knee injury, it’s better for Watt to let his body slowly recover and then really start grinding when it gets closer to OTAs and training camp. It doesn’t do his body any good to go all-out for the whole offseason, and a little bit of rest and recuperation will keep him fresh. This part of the offseason is important for guys to get their bodies right after a grueling seven months, and before we know it OTAs and minicamp and are going to be here. So slowly getting back to the grind and giving his body time to heal is a good move for Watt.
I’m sure the injuries have played a part in his change in mindset, and just like his brother was, Watt is a guy who’s going to go all-out when it matters. But suffering the torn pec in Week 1 in 2022 probably showed Watt that he could tone it down a little bit earlier in the offseason to not overwork his muscles and let him recover from the season before really getting into grind mode.
Especially as Watt gets older, it’s going to become more and more important for him to take care of his body as much as possible. Cameron Heyward talked about the importance of using this part of the offseason to recover, and he also recently underwent surgery to clean up his core muscle injury that he suffered in Week 1 last season. While Watt isn’t as old as Heyward, it’s still important to just have a little bit of recovery time in the weeks after the season ends to let your muscles and body get to where they need to be so he can be at his best heading into the next season.
Watt’s going to be extra motivated next season after losing the Defensive Player of the Year award to Myles Garrett, and we could see yet another All-Pro season out of him in 2024.
